Partnered Minds
by ChrissyForestChat
Summary: When an akuma is a bit more messed up than usual, our heroes become a little closer of partners than they planned. A soulmate au where you're not born with a soulmate, but you forge the bond through strong emotion and/or trauma. Afterwards, they really do share "Mind" and "Soul."
Right, this first chapter is a bit dark. Which I hate that I did that, because this story isn't going to be dark. From what I have planned, it's mainly fluff and stupidty.

So, I promised back when I first came up with this idea that I would give credit for the inspiration that this Soulmate au was created with in mind. This absolutely wonderful story from the Haikyuu! fandom, /works/4159077 or _Gold Star, Ash Sky_ , written by bigspoonoya, or /plotghosts. Seriously, if you have read or watched Haikyuu!, but you haven't read this fanfiction… Please, do not read my story, I plead you to first go and read this stellar work. Trust me, it's a ton better than mine anyway, aha.

Akuma could be difficult to deal with. She would summon her charms and would then have to figure out some convoluted course of action to take them out. They could be tricky, taking multiple charms and transformations. Despite it all Ladybug never becomes desperate. Marinette, sure, but Ladybug was a literal magic problem solver.

This akuma was not just tricky. Most akuma's desires were not inherently dangerous. This one? They wanted to inflict pain. To push pain and suffering on others in some twisted form of justice.

When Ladybug arrived on the scene of the akuma, she expected lines of destruction. Sheer destruction would not make Ladybug and Chat Noir hesitate in disbelief. The abused screams and writhing of elementary children? Already this akuma was turning into one of the worst. And Ladybug was _desperate_ to end all of it.

"Ladybug? What is this?" he partner whispered, haunted expression taut on his face. Unable to respond, she gave a small whimper as the akuma began to talk.

"It's a doctor's job to purge sickness from the world. I purged one innocent child's from here, now I'm here to surgically remove these bullies who deserve it! A Surgical Purge!"

"Purge…" Ladybug repeated, processing the word as horror built in her chest. She glanced at Chat, vaguely registering his matching fear. "We need to get them out of here Chat. He plans to-" she cut herself off.

Chat stared at her. He was visibly shaken, but he forced a grin as he said, "Stealing the glorious job for yourself, again? Go collect the kids. I've got an appointment with the vet."

She should have scolded him for joking, even if it was obviously a façade he adopted to remain positive. Another scream rang in their ears, and his grin disappeared on its own.

Before leaving, she had to ask, "What if he tries to follow me?"

"He's mourning someone. He'll want to rant. All I have to do is keep his attention on me." At the unimpressed look he received, he said, "I never shut up, right? It's the perfect job for me." Yes, he purred the "perfect", and Ladybug spared the mental capacity to roll her eyes. Neither was felling reassured by his bravado or puns, but the normalcy of it helped erase some of the overwhelming negativity. With a twinkling grin, he vaulted off the tiled roof.

Ladybug shook herself and moved to the two youngest children first. She watched as the pain lessened on the kids' faces, as the grass they had ripped from the ground slipped from their fingers. Chat's voice was distant, but it seemed he'd garnered the full attention of Surgical Purge.

She slid her arms around the two children, swiftly swinging to where the police blocked the area. She psychically felt her heart break as tears slipped onto her suit. She set the children down, pat them in a sweet, comforting manner, and rushed to slip back to the battle. Six more children were carried back to the police, and each of them received a soft pat on the head.

The final child she attempted to set down, but the child's tear streaked face buried itself into her face with his legs curled around her waist. His entire body shivered and his head swiveled back and forth. She hugged the child close to her. She wanted to give in and shiver alongside the young boy, but civilians were all watching. As Ladybug she couldn't be weak. As Marinette, well she'd have nightmares all night of this. But right now a certain black cat was waiting for her assistance.

"Don't leave," the small boy cried quietly. She felt her heart gain another crack, but the entire city was in need of her to finish her job. She adjusted the boy in her lap as she kneeled.

With as much kindness as she could muster in her tired mental state, she told the child, "My partner is waiting for me. He needs me to finish saving Paris."

Emotions flit across the boy's face, eventually settling on a deep sadness. He looked her in the eyes and creaked, "Can I see you again?"

A waver made it into her voice, "That playground the monster's in, that's your school, right? How about Ladybug and Chat Noir visit your school next week? What's your name?" She tried to avoid making promises for Ladybug, since she was never sure she could go through with them. This child needed the support too much for her to overlook.

"I'm Camille," he said with a hope now shining in his face.

She gave a bright smile before standing, "I need to go help the kitten. I'll see you soon, Camille." So she left. Five throws of her yo-yo later she was back to the battle. With her return all positive feelings gained from saving the children were churned to stew.

In front of her stood Chat Noir, chest shaking with each ragged breath and a grimace settled overtop his trademark smirk. He was blocking each swing of the akuma's scalpel with his baton, and each clang sound simultaneously with a grunt from him. None of this caused the dread and alarm pooling her stomach.

Blood. In his hair and a trail following his steps. Hands slipping on the red liquid on his staff, barely rolling away from the scalpel when his guard failed. Ladybug stared, searching for the wound leaking life, but black leather gave nothing away.

She was awoken from her internal panic by Chat's voice, "Sounds like your taking your failure out on others. Doctors aren't gods you know. You sure this Celestina would approve of you pushing her pain on others?"

Ladybug didn't have enough context to understand the words. That didn't matter. Chat's tone was evidence enough, for her trained ears. The dumb, sacrificing alley cat. Honestly. He's dripping a blood pool but still taunting the akuma?

Working through the lump of distress clogging her airways, she said, "Chat, stop it! The kids are gone! Come over here!"

Let it be known. Chat Noir almost always listened to Ladybug. He held complete trust in her directions. Her own trust in him easily rivaled him of hers. So he must have some reason for why he ignored everything she said. When the akuma turned to her, Chat sidled up before the villain's gaze and shouted, "Hey surgeon! Come give me some anesthetic, or are you going to forget again?"

Ladybug gaped while stressed anger grew in her mind, what was he planning? If he expected her to do something, well she couldn't read his mind! They needed to regroup to decide a course of action.

Watching Chat begin his struggle anew, however, reminded her that either way he needed help. She moved with the intention to finish the battle before her dumbass kitten could tangle himself in anymore yarn. A flick of her wrist and a ride from her yo-yo, she was standing just feet away from Chat.

Her heart stopped. From a distance, the blood had worried her. Up close, she could see just how much saturated him. Panic clutched her and she dashed over to him, catching his arm and yanking him along with her until she'd put some distance between the akuma and them.

"Chat Noir, why'd you ignore me? You can't keep fighting so recklessly," she whispered, her words sounding more like a plead than she intended. Since they'd already lost her desired effect, she added, "Please. You're bleeding out. At least give your kwami a rest."

For a nice moment his face showed contemplation. Her dread grew physically in her as a smile flit on his face. "Your worry is touching, my lady," he said sincerely. His tail loosely wrapped around his stomach. "This akuma. He's dangerous. I can't just leave you to fight him alone, not unless my transformation run low."

"His akuma is probably in his scalpel," he said with a concentrated glare on said object.

Ladybug stood frozen, pondering fighting him more on the matter. She sighed and dropped it, understanding that id it was her she probably wouldn't leave either. "Don't let your fur get too matted." She sat aside her anxiety and said, "Come on, alley cat. Doctors won't wait for their patients."

Together they reappeared a few feet before Surgical Purge. The doctor lifted his weapon, Chat readied his baton, and Ladybug drew her yo-yo. The doctor's focus immediately zeroed in on Chat, and she saw him stumble as his tail constricted around his abdomen. Deciding the kitty deserved a break even if he didn't request one, she began the fight by throwing the doctor off his feet. Except he dug his scalpel into the ground, keeping is feet upright and turning to look at her.

Her heart rate sped as the akuma charged toward her. Ladybug prepared to meet him step for step. He grinned as she pulled her arm back for a punch, and he said, "You saved those bullies. Someone has to take her pain, and you're just as evil for helping those monsters!"

She ignored whatever it was he said, just muttering, "There's one monster here."

She should have listened.

The moments before her fist should have connected with the akuma, her vision changed. She saw a blur of blue-black and red with black. At the same moment a hand grasped the spotted arm and yanked, and she crashed and skid across the ground. Dimly she registered the foreign waves of worry and panic drowning her, that soon gave way to a strange mix of relief and panic.

A scream resounded. She shot to her feet while searching for Chat.

He was panting and clutching his lower midsection. Though his mouth only moved to suck in air she heard him mumble _thank gods._ While staring at him she felt her own mix of anger and panic, because he'd taken another hit for her! Chat looked at her with glazed eyes and offered a heart wrenching grin.

"I apologize, my lady. I forgot to mention, if the tip of his scalpel touches you, it'll leave a lasting pain. Every hit after the first adds to the exist pain." He curled a tiny bit more into himself. She could see red leaking over the palm covering his stomach.

She noticed the akuma lift his weapon, and instinctually sent her yo-yo out to wrap around Chat's leg. She dragged him just as the scalpel pierced the ground he'd been. Crouched beside him, she lifted his gaze to hers. She disregarded the warmth in her wrist.

"How many times Chat?" Chat's flick of misplaced guilt showed no need for elaboration. His need to think over his answer gave her no reassurance, either he didn't know, he was slow to come up with a lie, or he's hesitating.

"Seven." With a grunt of pain he added, "I've been bleeding since the fourth."

Panic coiled tighter in her chest. He tried to calmly breathe though pain while she carefully put a hand to his stomach, watching for his wince. She took a shuddering breath and glared at him through her worry.

"Chat Noir. I am going to summon a Lucky Charm and finish off this akuma. You are going to rest here, and if I see so much as your tail flicker before I've been stabbed eight times, we will not be speaking during the next month of patrols." That should be a sufficient threat. He's enough of an attention whore for it.

"You wouldn't be able to resist me for a month." He teased, purposely overlooking her eye roll.

"I'm afraid I won't be much more help without some pain killers. I'll be a good kitty and groom myself here until you miss me too much."

She shook her head, hiding her relief at his co-operation behind an exasperated façade, and pat him on the head, "See you soon, kitten." She stood with her yo-yo at eye level, before throwing it into the sky with a shout of, "Lucky Charm!"

A metal tray landed in her outstretched hands. She saw the akuma's attention to be called to her, and she took off before Chat could get in the crossfire (again). The doctor charged at her while she contemplated what the actual hell to do with the item. She dodged left, a backflip, left again and she was pinned between the akuma and the nearby school. She blocked a swipe from him with the medicinal tray. A few more thrusts and she blocked one more hit from him, before flipping overtop him. She landed and sprinted to the eastern edge of the park.

Ladybug spun around, her only warning before pain overcame her senses was a rush of panic and concern. With a grunt she jumped away and pushed away the influx of pain spreading from her abdomen. Damn, that hurt. Chat's been hit with this seven times?

Her sight flipped again, she now sees a tall man standing above a girl covered in spots. Another burst of panic seeped through her psyche, a mix of her own and a diluted form. The man shoved his weapon towards the girl and the pain doubled. She stumbled back, blinking into her own vision again as she heard another clang of metal against metal.

Looking up graced her with the sight of Chat and the akuma with their weapons locked. As Ladybug reared up to tell Chat off for getting involved, she realized how they could disarm their opponent. She ran behind the akuma, flinging her yo-yo around the doctor's midsection. He slackened with surprise, then she shouted, "Chat, swing your baton up!"

Her partner either understood her thought process, or just simply trusted her judgement and complied. As he raised his arm, she yanked her yo-yo towards herself, and watched as the man stumbled. The scalpel slid from the man's grip and for the final time that night her vision swapped.

The silver point fell against a black clad chest. She heard a cattish whimper mixed with a screech at the same moment.

That was it, the eighth time he'd been hit. Chat tripped backwards, placing a miserable distance between himself and the akumatized object. A jarring crash against the ground and he curled up, his ears pinned back and tail twisted between his legs.

Automatically Ladybug moved to go help her partner. Failing and trying and failing to ignore the scream that rang through her mind. Her tears welled up. One slipped across her cheek; she tripped over the akuma's weapon. Remembering herself, she crunched the tip of the scalpel off, barely containing her own whimper of pain. The black butterfly fluttered above the weapon.

Searching for the metal tray took more emotional restraint than she commonly expended. Her brain stayed centered around her kitty only a few feet away. The comfort she could provide was useless to him in comparison to the cure.

With the tray gone and a loud shout of her coined phrase, she took off toward Chat's prone form. Nudging his shoulder, she felt a few extra tears slip when he remained unresponsive. Pushing past herself, she brought a hand to his hair, and slowly scratched through the blond strands. Lightly running her nails on his scalp over and over, the motion became therapeutic.

She didn't attempt to stop the delighted laugh that left her lips when she heard his answering purr. She felt awash with pleased confusion as his green eyes blinked up to her.

 _{I'll just steal as much affection as possible.}_

His head bumped her hand in encouragement as a sweet purr built more between them. For a minute of silence all she registered was a mix of contentment within her and a foreign but familiar presence.

"Ladybug? C-Chat Noir? What's going on?" as man broke the comfort with. Ladybug met the gaze of the man that was behind Surgical Purge. Resentment bubbled for half a second, but she pushed it further into the recess of her mind. That emotion wouldn't come out until she was mask to mask with Hawkmoth.

She motioned for Chat to sit up. He tried, but a gasp escaped him and he clutched his stomach. Guilt burned in her. Residual side effects happen, especially on the two of them. Tikki and Chat worked hard to shelter her from that information, but some pieces slip through the barriers they put over her ears.

Chat's tail tapped her nose, "Don't get bugged out, my lady. I'm pawsitively fine." Lowering his tone to something only super hearing would pick up, he said, "Only a bit sore. A single claw could do much worse."

The man spoke again, "Did I transform?" Well he'd put that much together. Ladybug's miraculous beeped, as startling loudly as always.

"Some people were hurt during this. It wasn't you who did those things. Remember that in case someone has footage of earlier," she explained in the tone she reserved specifically for this information.

"Hawkmoth played with your grief. You're not at any more fault than the other akuma's," Chat added his piece. He blinked and shook his head.

 _{Ugh, my head. I need to head home.}_

Ladybug's miraculous beeped.

 **{Well, I need to escape too.}**

They stood and realized they hadn't done their fist bump yet. A burst of warmth spread from her wrist down as their fists connected. Chat's miraculous beeped. With twin uneasy smiles, the emotion resonating in both minds, they turned and fled.

Ladybug tried to her best to ignore how, after 3 minutes of running in the opposite direction of Chat, she heard his voice.

 _{Damn, that car was close.}_

She ignored the vivid memories from someone else's eyes replaying in her head. She shut her senses against everything, the distance she could feel from him and the impressions of emotions dancing along her consciousness. Finally she collapsed into bed as Marinette, and turned to look at Tikki who had the "I-need-to-at-as Marinette's-evasive-mother-about-LB-stuff face.

"I'm not imagining it, Tikki? This is my life now, huh."

"I mean, you lasted a lot longer than other Chat Noirs and Ladybugs. Sometimes it happens the first day, even." Tikki explained sympathetically. Marinette didn't bother to respond, just shoving her head further into her pillow.

–––––––––––––––––

Adrien felt off.

Unsurprising, considering his jointed memories of the night before. All of the fight is clear until the fourth hit he took from the akuma, afterwards only his interactions with Ladybug stand out.

Strangely a few memories in particular were vivid, but in one of those delusions he saw _himself_ from afar. Probably came from being delirious with pain. His stomach still aches when he squirms.

So, he felt off. But with all kinds of weird happenings, who wouldn't? So he paid no heed to the feeling and went on with his routine. Adrien Agreste's schedule does not lighten because of feeling "off."

His determination to seem normal did not cancel out abnormalities from his life. He had an abnormal life, it's just how things were. Didn't stop his fork from clattering against his plate while he breathed a curse.

A presence, of sorts, radiated from within his mind. It felt oddly comforting, but his own panic over rid the bubbly emotion emitting from it. His eyes stared unseeing for a good two minutes as he intently focused on the foreign presence. He tentatively reached towards the mass of his imagination.

A flood swept through him–emotions that weren't his, thoughts he'd never had, and his vision showed a room he'd never seen before.

 _{Wow. I'm being blinded by pink.}_

The flood dammed up. The presence itself seemed to screech to a halt.

 **{Chat Noir?}** Asked Ladybug's voice.

He choked, then remained unable to obtain any air. Ladybug could often occupy his thoughts, but his thoughts didn't speak. Feeling insane, he probed hesitantly.

 _{Ladybug?}_

A few moments of silence. His mind flipped between believing this to be insanity and the realization that this could be real. That the shock and exaltation pulsing through him was not only his.

 **{Good morning Chat.}**

Air entered his mouth. He's fine. Completely, amazingly fine. He'd just somehow bound his soul to his crush of two and a half years.

 **{Chat? Please respond. I'm barely stopping myself from screaming into this weird mental skype.}**

He burst into peals of laughter.

 _{If you need to scream, then by all means use our "mental skype" to do so.}_

 **{Ahhhhhhhhh–}**

Adrien just laughed harder. Tone and volume apparently don't carry across the bond. He assumed the emotion wavering along the bond now was something akin to satisfaction. Maybe because she'd screamed her emotions out now, or maybe because she could feel the amusement coming from him.

Though the fact that her being bound to him makes her want to scream wasn't lost on him. His chuckles dried up with his amusement.

Ladybug can feel that herself now, he forgot.

 **{What's wrong?}**

Adrien reached for his Chat Noir bravado, say something to deflect her, maybe even give her some laughs too. In the end, sweet and sane Adrien won out.

 _{I'm sorry. For causing this}_

A mixed bunch of emotions passed through him.

 **{Chat. We both caused this. It is literally impossible for you to be the sole cause. People can't form one-sided bonds. Even if this ends as a mistake. It'd be our mistake, not yours.}**

When no response came she continued.

 **{Chat. We share emotions now. I can feel yours. Which is admittedly a little overwhelming. Still, do I feel upset?}**

He prodded the bond, and felt her emotions pulse stronger than before.

 _{I'm not sure. You don't seem negative. It seems your emotions evade me just as you do, my lady.}_

 **{I'm stressed, because there's a lot of issues with this. Our identities, explaining to people… It's not you that upsets me, how could being partnered to one of my best friends be bad? Well, besides how you can send me puns on a 24/7 basis now.}**

A wide and sincere smile split his face.

 _{Ah, just friends? We're "Les Esprit," we're practically soul mates now–}_

 **{Don't get frisky, kitty. Can we meet up tonight? We need to talk in person.}**

Running his schedule through his head, yes, he could.

 _{Of course, I can late tonight. I'll look forward to seeing you framed by the full moon.}_

 **{We're a cat and bug, there's no moon motif anywhere. Anyway, let's try to keep out of each other's heads for today. I don't want to feel you creeping while I'm changing for P.E.}**

Adrien spluttered, _{He would never!}_

 **{I know, Chat Noir. If you did, I'd make sure the next akuma has some fun with you.}**

He didn't need to be thinking about a stripping Ladybug this early in the day. Abort conversation. Now.

 _{Have a nice day, my lady}_

They quit talking after that, but Adrien found it impossible to ignore her ever hovering presence, so he didn't bother. He went through his morning motions in a daze, most of his attention on the emotions filtering through.

He arrived to school in the same state. Relieved none of his friends were around, he walk to a more secluded area in an attempt to ward off conversations. He had about 35 minutes to waste when he noticed it.

His most worrisome concern kept growing. His lady kept coming closer. He sat, hyperaware of her presence and waited for her to make a turn somewhere. He assuring himself that she just felt more nearby than she really was. Considering this was their first day bonded, he had no prior basis for how close was close. Alarm rose into his throat until he finally gave in.

 _{My lady, have you arrived to school safely?}_

 **{Uhh, Chat? You don't need to check up on me. Besides, I'm walking up the stairs to school right now.}**

Eyes widening, his panic began to flutter across the bond.

 _{Wait, stop, stop!}_

 **{Huh Chat? What's up?}**

Adrien twisted around, facing the wall opposite the school's entrance with his eyes squeezed shut.

 _{Don't come inside.}_

Finally her warmth stopped moving, a tantalizing close distance away. A flood of realization poured in, and his vision flipped alongside it. He saw the view from the school's entrance. Adrien felt his heart crack as he saw himself, off to the left, maybe 30 feet away.

His vision cleared up while the warmth quickly fled, running in the direction she came.

 **{I didn't see you Chat.}**

Which he knew was a lie, of course. Perhaps she just didn't realized she'd seen him. The being said, they couldn't put their identities off. They knew that now.

 _{Can we meet up now? We can talk on the roof of the bakery across the street.}_

Her mix of emotions grew even more complex.

 **{Sure. Just. Should I be there as Ladybug… or myself?}**

Well, he had no idea just how she planned to get on the roof without transforming. Calming his heartrate, he moved into an empty classroom.

 _{Transformed, for now, I guess. We have a lot to discuss, wouldn't want you too distracted by my pretty face, huh?}_

"Plagg, claws out." A blinding flash of green and black, an open window, and a series of leaps later. And he was crouched on the roof of his friend's home.

The warmth in his wrist grew to a fever pitch. The sun seemed too bright. His green eyes met sky blue.

"Good morning again, Chat."

So this story is a bit of an experiment for me. TBH, I always finish planning things before I write them. Always. This time, I didn't. I only have a few more chapters worth of stuff, and no end in sight.

Which means that, if you have absolutely any ideas that you want to see written, even if it's some random ass scene that holds no plot and is purely for the fun because they can accidently hear each other's thoughts or something, then please tell me. I so want to take reader suggestions and implement them to the story.


End file.
